Well, at the other extreme stands Oscar Wilde with his aphorism at the start of Dorian Gray: "There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all." But then he goes on in the novel itself to demonstrate how his protagonist is "poisoned" by a book. So perhaps, as so often with Wilde, he didn't believe that his observation was actually true.

As I think I demonstrated in my earlier comments, I don't think it actually is true. Composers have a moral duty not to deliberately seek to damage the work of fellow composers, no matter how much they may dislike their actual productions. But those who compromise with totalitarian regimes (sometimes out of the sheer need to preserve their lives or liberties) should not be condemned simply for a lack of courage; we are not all the stuff of which martyrs are made. The real answer of course is that politics should keep its nose out of artistic concerns, and that is as true today as it ever was.

I am glad that Colin Mackie regarded my earlier contribution as thought-provoking. I just wish I had a ready answer.